First-Year post-secondary students who are entering a public Canadian university or college can now apply for the Omnitracs Mike Ham Memorial Scholarship. Omnitracs partnered with the OTA Education Foundation to honour the life and legacy of Mike Ham, who passed away in 2020. As a testament to the respect that Mike earned from customers and colleagues alike, the scholarship endowment was supplemented by several close industry friends, bringing the annual scholarship amount to $1,250.
“Mike was very big on education and believed in young people,” said Norm Sneyd, who recently retired as VP of business development with Bison Transport. “Mike always enjoyed working with, mentoring and coaching young people”.
Mike would be thrilled knowing he was instrumental in helping young people pursue their education goals as a result of this scholarship, said Dan Einwechter, CEO of Challenger Motor Freight. “Mike understood the value of a post-secondary education and loved taking new grads to the next level of learning”.
“I’d like to think that as Mike looks down on this, it will bring a smile to his face”, added Sneyd. His family and friends believe that Mike would be pleased that this scholarship was established to assist young people with their college and university expenses.
The annual scholarship is administered by the OTA Education Foundation and follows criteria established in consultation with Mike’s colleagues, friends, and family. To be eligible, students must be entering their furst year of studies at a public Canadian college or university, and be enrolled in a full-time Transportation, Logistics, Business, Technology, Human Resources, or Communications progra. The application must also be the son or daughter of a parent who works in the Canadian trucking industry.